The following excerpted is from an unpublished book chapter, “Is Ethical Influence the
Secret of Leadership?” (by Matthew F. Barney, Ph.D., Gregory P.M. Neidert, Ph.D., &
Robert B Cialdini, Ph.D, pp. 29-35).
The Core Motives1 Approach to Understanding Social Influence
By Gregory P.M. Neidert, Ph.D.
As we noted earlier in this chapter, the six principles of social influence are quite intuitive.
Having an understanding of the principles is one thing, being able to ethically and
effectively employ them is quite another. Most of us understand the principles and their
impact in retrospect. We recognize them once we have seen them in action on others, or
when we reflect on when they have successfully been used to influence us. Beyond this
level of knowledge, effective leaders also need to understand, in advance of encountering a
situation, which principles are likely to be most available to them and enter the situation
prepared with a plan to engage their power for mutual benefit.
Neidert (2001, 2003) formalized and proposed the Core Motives Model of Social
Influence1 to do just that. The model helps one understand the circumstances or conditions
under which each principle is especially useful and most powerful. In this model the Core
Motives for the Agent of Influence relate to three fundamental phases of the influence
process: Cultivating Relationships (Relationships), Reducing Uncertainty (Uncertainty)
and Motivating Action (Motivation). He developed it as both a developmental and strategic
approach to more simply and effectively manage the influence process. It is presented in its
developmental form below in Figure 2 and Table 3.
1, 2
The Core Motives Model of Social Influence TM is a Trademark of Gregory P.M.
Neidert, Ph.D. This chapter excerpt is Copyright 2008 Gregory P.M. Neidert, Ph.D. All
rights reserved. Do not cite without written permission of the author.
1, 2
The Core Motives Model of Social Influence TM is a Trademark of Gregory P.M. Neidert, Ph.D. This chapter excerpt is Copyright
2008 Gregory P.M. Neidert, Ph.D. All rights reserved. Do not cite without written permission of the author.
Cultivating Relationships
Influence scientists consider the person making a request an “Agent” and the receiver a “Target”,
and for our purposes the Leader is typically the “Agent”. In the influence process, when the
Agent and Target are unknown to one another, the Agent has little or no standing in the eyes of
the others with which to make a request. One of the first questions the Target of influence asks
is, “Why should I listen to you? Why should I take the time to listen to what you have to say?”
To be effective for both the short and long term, the Agent needs first to connect with the Target
at a personal level and create a relationship. The two principles most central to cultivating
relationships are Reciprocity and Liking. The other principles are certainly useful in augmenting
relationships, but we can safely assert that if the central issue in your influence strategy has to do
with initiating, building, maintaining, and repairing relationships and you do not use the
principles of Reciprocity and/or Liking as the core of your strategy, we can confidently predict
that your attempt at influence won’t be as successful as it could otherwise be.
Reducing Uncertainty
Once a personal connection, a relationship, has been established between the Agent and the
Target, the Target is more open and receptive to the Agent’s request. The Agent now has
substantially improved standing from which to make his/her request. The next question the
Target asks is “What evidence or assurances do you have, such that if I take your advice and
move in your direction you are advocating, that the future will have a better outcome for me than
by doing nothing or by following some other course of action or someone else’s advice?” Here,
the core issue for the Target is that s/he needs to have convincing evidence or assurances from
the Agent that will reduce the anxiety for making a move from his or her secure base. For the
1, 2
The Core Motives Model of Social Influence TM is a Trademark of Gregory P.M. Neidert,
Ph.D. This chapter excerpt is Copyright 2008 Gregory P.M. Neidert, Ph.D. All rights reserved.
Do not cite without written permission of the author.
Agent, it is having the appropriate evidence ready and available to provide to the Target. The two
principles central to this core motive are Authority and Consensus/Social Proof.
When we are uncertain about how to proceed, when we can’t find the answers within ourselves,
we look outside of ourselves for the answers. If the solution to our problem is perceived as a
matter of fact, we turn to those we believe to be authorities on the matter. This includes getting
guidance from lawyers on legal matters, physicians for health concerns, auto mechanics for
problems with our vehicles, and so forth. In these circumstances, the principle of Authority will
be most powerful in affecting one’s decision.
However, when the issue is a matter of opinion, taste, or subjective judgment, we turn to others
like us for evidence on how to think, feel and behave. Hence, the principle of Consensus/Social
Proof is most potent in these situations. As with the previous core motive, other principles
positively impact Targets’ comfort with moving into untested waters and new directions at your
request. However, if you enter a situation where individuals are likely to be uncertain and
anxious about acting on your request and you have not come sufficiently prepared with the
germane Authority and/or Consensus information to provide them, your influence strategy won’t
be as successful as it could be.
Motivating Action
Once you have convinced a person that the direction you are recommending is a good one,
you’ve successfully convinced them that the request you are making is the right one, your last
hurdle is to motivate the Target to move from a decision to acting on your request. In this phase
1, 2
The Core Motives Model of Social Influence TM is a Trademark of Gregory P.M. Neidert,
Ph.D. This chapter excerpt is Copyright 2008 Gregory P.M. Neidert, Ph.D. All rights reserved.
Do not cite without written permission of the author.
of the influence process, the Target of influence is saying, “Okay, I agree that this is the right
direction to move in, but why should I act now instead of later?” At this juncture, the key
challenge for the Agent of Influence is one of alignment: what does the Target genuinely stand to
lose by not acting on the request in a timely fashion and how does taking advantage of the
window of opportunity align with the Target’s values, attitudes, beliefs and past behaviors. Thus,
if the Agent wishes to engage the powerful internal motivation of the Target, s/he will turn to the
principle of Consistency. If, on the other hand, there are extrinsic factors in the environment that
genuinely threaten the Target’s ability to move on this opportunity in the future, then the
principle of Scarcity is the most potent to engage. Certainly, as before, the other principles
impact whether or not a person will act on a request, but if you don’t use either Consistency or
Scarcity as the core of your approach you can’t be as effective as you otherwise could be.
1, 2
The Core Motives Model of Social Influence TM is a Trademark of Gregory P.M. Neidert,
Ph.D. This chapter excerpt is Copyright 2008 Gregory P.M. Neidert, Ph.D. All rights reserved.
Do not cite without written permission of the author.
Table 3: Core Motives Model
Core Motive
Cultivating
Relationships
Influence Principle
Reciprocity
Liking
Reducing Uncertainty
Authority
Consensus
Motivating Action
Consistency
Scarcity
Leader’s Challenge
Have I connected with the individuals
to be influenced on a personal level,
by uncovering similarities, areas of
cooperation, meaningful gifts and
concessions? Have I cultivated
personal relationships with those I
hope to influence by giving to them
first?
Do I have appropriate evidence from
authoritative sources and from similar
others to reduce the uncertainty of
the people I hope to influence? Does
that information sufficiently assure
them that moving in the direction I am
advocating is a wise decision to make?
How do I motivate the person to
follow-through with their decision?
Have I aligned my request in such a
way that they understand why they
should take action on my request now,
as opposed to later?
Bundling the Principles
The Core Motives Model helps us understand the sequence and rationale behind our social
influence processes. It is also important to understand that each principle, when genuinely
available in the situation, serves to amplify the other principles with which it is combined.
Therefore, for the greatest impact on those we wish to influence and lead, it is incumbent on us
to identify all of the principles that are naturally and genuinely available to us in a situation and
then to proactively employ them to move others in mutually beneficial ways. In this chapter, we
could only cover a sample of amplifiers for each principle. But the best approach for leaders
1, 2
The Core Motives Model of Social Influence TM is a Trademark of Gregory P.M. Neidert,
Ph.D. This chapter excerpt is Copyright 2008 Gregory P.M. Neidert, Ph.D. All rights reserved.
Do not cite without written permission of the author.
involves bundling multiple principles and amplifiers to get the highest level of influence – where
ethically appropriate.
While Gandhi can be rightly recognized as one of the most influential leaders ever, he also failed
to achieve some of his goals, by his own acknowledgement. Today, not all Indians look on his
accomplishments with fondness. But no one disputes the fact that Gandhi successfully led
hundreds of millions to follow his path. He held extremely ambitious goals, and even his failures
showed dramatic examples of successful ethical influence. Consistent with Neidert’s Core
Motives Model, Gandhi was a master at bundling multiple principles simultaneously with
breathtaking results.
1, 2
The Core Motives Model of Social Influence TM is a Trademark of Gregory P.M. Neidert,
Ph.D. This chapter excerpt is Copyright 2008 Gregory P.M. Neidert, Ph.D. All rights reserved.
Do not cite without written permission of the author.